‘Career top five’: Meet the Métis delegate whose beadwork was gifted to the pope

The moccasins made for Pope Francis are steeped in meaning. The flowers are beaded in the colours of the Vatican and surrounded by the red, white and blue of Métis flags.

Warning: This story deals with disturbing subject matter that may upset and trigger some readers. Discretion is advised.

Métis historian and educator Mitchell Case spent more than 200 hours threading thousands of vintage beads into a stunning jacket worn before Pope Francis in a private audience on Monday.

He gifted the jacket to Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron before the delegation of eight Métis residential school survivors, leaders, elders and educators sat down with the Holy Father in Vatican City.

Case also gifted Pope Francis with a set of handmade moccasins — a grand showcase of his work that altogether, makes it a “career top five” for the seasoned beader.

“It’s pretty cool,” he told Global News in St. Peter’s Square after the meeting.

“Frankly, for me, the biggest thing is that it’s our new president bringing that (jacket) forward and bringing that message forward from survivors.”

The jacket, whose designs come from communities across the country, carries great meaning. Its beads are more than a century old, and while their source is a trade secret, Case happily shared their significance.

“Those beads — they come from a time before residential schools. They come from a time before these crimes against humanity were committed against our people,” he explained.